Archive for the Team Building Category
Work Happiness Tip – Tag Your Co-Worker
I posted on Twitter about the importance of rewarding your co-workers. I love Twitter, by the way. The ability to connect with fun, smart and quirky people is brilliant.
A friend on Twitter told me that she likes to create tags for her co-workers.
I asked her what she meant and she explained that she likes to give out random acts of kindness to the people she works with. She draws beautiful pictures on pricing tags. She sent me these photos so I could share them with you.
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The Secrets to Workplace Leadership
I shared a drink with a friend who manages a team of five people. He was wondering how people’s moods can fluctuate in such a broad range, which affects the quality of their work. One of his employees is always up and down. He is engaged with his work one week and then he seems to lose interest. His interest fluctuates and he isn’t sure why.
We all have this problem it’s just that most of us force ourselves to stay focused. My friend told me that he has tried giving this employee various kinds of work to see what interests him, but that didn’t work either.
I asked him if he ever sits down with his staff to explain the reasoning behind the work.
He said he didn’t. He never really thought of that because it’s pretty obvious to him. They need to design websites that exceed the customer’s expectations.
He was losing out on a huge opportunity. People often stop looking at the larger picture because they get comfortable. This comfortable feeling reduces their desire to go above and beyond the normal effort.
A study at the University of Alberta showed that people need a sense of purpose in order to feel engaged with their work. A ‘Spirit at Work’ intervention program for a group of long-term health-care workers boosted morale and job retention. This program urged employees to rethink their job, which reduced absenteeism by 60% and turnover by 75%.
“We discovered that people who are able to find meaning and purpose in their work, and can see how they make a difference through that work, are healthier, happier and more productive employees,” said Val Kinjerski, a University of Alberta PhD graduate who co-authored the study.
- E-science news gathered this information from the Journal of Gerontological Nursing.
By helping your people understand why they do what they do – you can increase happiness and productivity.
I’m going to give you a few ideas that might help your employees/coworkers to connect with their work.
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Team Building Activity – Hint – Colorful Balls
Jeff Sloan, co-founder of Start-up Nation, talked at a Microsoft conference about creating your own business. He is a serial entrepreneur of electronics and various other media.
Jeff and his brother were promoting one of their gadgets at a conference and they bumped into a woman who was juggling, so they started juggling with her. They got to talking with the woman and hashed out a distributorship to sell the juggling balls throughout North America.
Their juggling package was the number 1 item sold for Father’s Day back in 1992.
They positioned their product as “Stress Relief for the Busy Executive.” An item that has been around since the pyramids in Egypt was the best selling product for fathers in the US. Jeff was able to do this because of a relationship that he created with the department stores.
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Wine Company is Buzzing about Work Happy Now
I love a forward thinking company. Artesano is definitely that. They are making honey (mead) wine from start to finish.
They make everything from scratch. They let the bees make the honey (Yes, they have their own bee farm in Vermont). They believe in high quality ingredients and excellent taste.
When I contacted Nichole, one of the owners, about helping them with their work happiness, I wasn’t sure what to expect. She was excited about the concept; I didn’t even have to do the hard sell.
We held the seminar on Sunday. Yes, I work on Sundays if that’s the best time for my client. Read their testimonial about my presentation – Karl Staib Presents His Work Happy Now Message.
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Why Don’t People Laugh at Work?
This is a guest post from Drew Tarvin
When I first started in the corporate world, I didn’t realize how little my fellow employees laughed. It wasn’t until I started doing corporate stand-up gigs that I noticed the distinct lack of chuckles, giggles, and guffaws in the workplace. The question is, why is laughter missing?
Stand-Up or Sit Down
After my very first corporate stand-up show, I thought I did terrible. No one had laughed as much as they did in the comedy clubs, and it didn’t seem like my jokes resonated with the audience. But after the show, the other comedian I performed with (a veteran on the corporate circuit) congratulated me, saying he was impressed with how well I did. I chalked it up to him trying to spare my feelings.
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How do I make my people happy?
So you want an atmosphere that encourages great work? Don’t we all. Most bosses and managers talk a good game, but they don’t create a plan to make it happen.
Almost every CEO I worked for always talked about the importance of their people, but their actions did not coincide with their words. They were always more worried about the bottom line.
I know how important it is to make money, but if the employees are happy then believe me, the money will come. That is if you have a good product/service.
It’s why Southwest airlines is the only consistent money generator in the USA airline industry. They believe in creating a culture that encourages happiness.
As a leader of people you need to encourage happiness in every facet of your business. I’ve created 10 techniques that will help your company be happy and successful.
- Be happy yourself.
- Know your people.
- Make time for your people.
- Show people the autonomy that they already have.
- Help them find meaning in their work.
- Listen and respond to their emotions, not their problems.
- Stop letting assholes dictate the company culture.
- Encourage friendships.
- Recognize hard work.
- Find out why people leave.
These are concepts that are easy to understand, but may be hard to apply to your company’s culture. I’ll break them down so you can use them in your company.
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Create A Members Only Club The Google Way
Google has a name for all their employees – Googlers. When I first heard this I thought it was cheesy, but the more I thought about it the more it made sense. They are a club of elite people who are trying to change the world. That’s the message that people want to send when they create a club. They feel special to be at a place where others want to be. They are proud to call themselves Googlers.
Google will never be the perfect work environment for every type of person. A lot of people don’t like the competition and the stress, but others do and it works for them. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. No place is perfect, but Google does a great job of creating an atmosphere that feels special.
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The Necessity of Giving Gratitude at Work
My friend Rob told me that his co-worker complained about every little thing. It dragged him down. If someone left work early he would chime in. If someone didn’t send him the right format on a report he would grumble. No one went the extra mile for him because he would always find a way to complain about something.
Do you know anyone like this?
People complain at work because they focus on the “lack” instead of the “joy” that they get from their job. They do this for a number of reasons:
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Getting Someone to Care
How does anyone (Supervisor, CEO, Manager, Co-worker) get an unmotivated person to care about their work?
The best way to do this is to take them through a story that will catch and keep their attention and make them think of it again and again. It’s why we care about the companies that we do. They tell a story that we can hitch our emotions to and we allow ourselves to keep coming back to it.
McDonald’s does this within their commercials. They put people in situations where the food alleviates their pain. We think of McDonald’s as if it’s Advil, helping us out by getting us through a rushed morning.
The problem that most leaders have when trying to get employees to understand the importance of what they are trying to achieve is their lack of angles. They keep telling their employees that the customers’ opinions are important because they keep the company in business and therefore put food on our table.
You need to do better
To get an employee to care he must be able to see himself in his customers. For instance, anyone who was ever a waiter tips well because he understands what type of hardships are involved. My wife always puts the grocery cart back in that cart carrier because she knows it’s easier for the employee to gather them when they are centrally located instead of scattered throughout the parking lot. She does this because she used to gather carts in 100 degree heat when she was in high school. She likes to reduce the pain of the employee because she puts herself in that employee’s shoes.
A leader of an organization must convince her employees to care about the feelings behind the story. That means letting co-workers tell their own stories, allowing customers to tell their stories, and you telling the story from so many angles until you get 75% of the employees become vested in the concept.
The other 25% will never give themselves over. No leader can win them all.
It takes a strong leader to realize this. Just let them go and bring in new people that can be won over.
In a very distant way here are some Related Articles:
- 7 Awesome Lessons from Bill Gates – Love Him or Hate Him, He is a Genius
- 10 Secrets to Motivating Teenagers
- 8 Great Leadership Tips from the Dallas Cowboys Assistant Head Coach
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Image courtesy of jbrownell
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Great Managers Care About Their Employees
Every employee wants to work happy. I don’t know anyone that believes that they enjoy their job more when they are sad or angry. It’s up to managers and supervisors to create an atmosphere that supports happiness and productivity.
In my early stages of managing people I ran projects that clunked through to the finish line. It was perturbing and eye opening. I was so worried about myself that I forgot to be a leader.
This confession was inspired by Penelope Trunk’s post How to be a good manager: Be generous. I was afraid to help others while I was struggling. The problem with this attitude is its lack of foresight. When a good manager listens to his/her employees and empowers them to do great work, they will help the manager succeed.
“A good manager pops up all the time, just to check in. Not because you are micromanaging and you don’t trust anyone around you. But because you can’t know how to help people if you don’t know how they are doing. And take time to chat when things are going fine, because that’s when it’s clear that you’re just talking because you care as much about the person as the work they’re doing.”
- Penelope Trunk
Not every manager will be good at the personal stuff, but in today’s business environment these skills must be developed. The managers that get great work out of their staff are the ones that care about who they are. It will take practice and stubborn discipline to make this a habit, but once you do you can create a team that will walk through fire for you and you for them. That’s the type of relationships that a manager can build a career on.
Every manager must find his or her own way to learn to encourage employees and help them through difficult spots. It’s not easy to give away time and energy, but it will help you and your staff work happier and become more productive. If you are managing right now, what techniques are you using to become a better manager?
Does your supervisor or manager check in with you on a regular basis?
Related Articles on Becoming a Better Manager:
- Active Managers Win the Race
- Working Unhappy in Retail
- 8 Great Leadership Tips from the Dallas Cowboys Assistant Head Coach
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Image courtesy of aloofdork
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